"[The]
Cayuses...sprang from pieces of a giant beaver trapped in the Palouse
River, whose falls he thrashed out in a retreat upstream from the
Snake. Since the Cayuses had sprung from Beaver's heart, they were
more energetic, daring, and successful than their neighbors..."
(Ruby
and Brown, 1989: 30-31).
The
Cayuse lived at Waiilatpu for centuries before the arrival of
Euro-Americans. Smithsonian Institution, #3073-B-83.
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The
Cayuse tribe was made up of several bands (subgroups) that lived along
the Walla Walla and Umatilla Rivers and tributary creeks; these bands
shared a common culture and a common language that linked them together.
It is one particular band, pásxapu, that lived at Waiilatpu
-- a place now preserved for and in the memories of two cultures that
clashed over a century ago; where the memories still linger among
the grasses.
It is a Nez Perce word that defines this place, "Waiilatpu"
and gives it some of the identity it still has today. It has been
translated as "place of the people of the rye grass". The
translation perhaps tells a little about why a people chose to settle
here so long ago. It would have been a good place to live, with grasses
and open prairie to provide food such as roots, berries, and
wild game. Camas, kouse, and bitterroot were staples of life, as was
salmon and deer. At the same time, a river and creek ran nearby, providing
life-giving water to the salmon and other fish, the animals, and the
people. Located in a valley at the foot of the Blue Mountains, the
Cayuse could obtain more food for their families and trees to build
tipis.
The
Blue Mountains provided food and raw materials that made the
nearby valleys good places to live for the Cayuse tribe |
The
Cayuse people lived on a yearly round, moving from valley to mountains
to river and back again as season followed season. Villages, including
the one at Waiilatpu, were returned to year after year, items were
even left in place in anticipation of their owner's return the following
year. An important part of Cayuse culture was the horse. It was a
poor man that only had 15 to 20 horses, a rich man had hundreds. Large
herds would have filled the area around Waiilatpu, providing a means
of transportation, recreation, trade, hunting, and war - all relevant
parts of Cayuse life. Lewis and Clark likely saw great herds of grazing
horses on the hill slopes of northeastern
Oregon and southeastern Washington when they passed through in 1805-1806.
Prior to acquiring the horse in the 1700's, dogs were the main pack
animals for the Cayuse. Imagine how much easier life became when the
horse became a part of Cayuse culture; it would be similar to us today
having to move everything from place to place using a bicycle instead
of an automobile!
The
horse gave the Cayuse the freedom to move villages, hunt and
trade with other tribes. Photo courtesy of Dept. of Interior,
National Park Service, Nez Perce National Historical Park. Photo
No.: NEPE-Hi-3241 |
Waiilatpu
provided almost everything the Cayuse people needed, including building
materials for their houses. Tule or bulrush, used in house construction,
grew in nearby marshy areas. When women harvested the tule, sewed
the reeds into mats, and placed them several layers thick onto the
frame made of pine poles, they created a home that was economical
in both the summer and the winter. In the winter, the first few layers
of tule absorbed moisture and swelled, not allowing rain to soak through
and drip on the family. Summers can be hot and dry in the Walla Walla
area, the tules dried out and shrank, allowing air to move through
the house. Since tule mat houses would have to be taken down when
a village was ready to move, the tules were lightweight and could
be packed onto a horse or travois to the next village location.
All
in all, Waiilatpu would have been a good place to live for the Cayuse.
Providing everything a people would need to survive, Waiilatpu saw
many generations of Cayuse born, mature, and die to be buried among
its sheltering grasses. It was at this place in the early 19th century
that the Cayuse people would see their lives begin to change -- for
better, for worse, forever.
Besides
game from hunting, the Cayuse tribe also ate fish caught from
the rivers in nets and fishing weirs such us this one. Today,
salmon are still vital part of tribal culture to the Indian
tribes of Oregon and Washington. Photo courtesy of The Field
Museum, #CSA1956
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